• ▪ Airline expands its third edition of AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2017 to all ten Asean countries
• ▪ Auditions will take place in each country's capital city from April - June
• ▪ Top 2 from each city will represent their country and stand a chance to win prizes worth at least RM350,000 and valuable experiences from industry experts

Aspiring fashion designers across the Asean region are set to receive the opportunity of a lifetime with the launch of AirAsia's Runway Ready Designer Search 2017, which has expanded to cover all ten Asean countries this year.

The competition will see audition tours across the capitals of each country throughout April to June in search for the top two aspiring fashion designers to represent their country at the Grand Finale which will take place in Kuala Lumpur this August.

The winner of this regional designer search will walk away with prizes worth at least RM350,000 including a confirmed slot in KL Fashion Week Ready To Wear 2018, RM25,000 sponsored by FashionValet to produce a capsule collection which will be sold on FashionValet.com, 150,000 AirAsia BIG Points as well as AirAsia flights and more.

Renowned fashion designers from each country such as Q Design and Play from Thailand, Anthony Ramirez from the Philippines and Mel Ahyar from Indonesia will be part of the panel of judges for the auditions at each respective cities; while Founder of KL Fashion Week Ready To Wear, Andrew Tan and Co-Founder of FashionValet, Vivy Yusof will be permanent judges across all auditions throughout Asean.

Malaysia's very own Alia Bastamam, renowned fashion designer as well as Yang Mei Ling, Editor of FEMALE Malaysia magazine will also be part of the judging panel for the Malaysian auditions.

Aireen Omar, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Berhadsaid, "Asean is a region filled with rich culture, which has inspired many fashion designers across the globe. But most importantly, Asean also has a strong talent pool which we hope to help bring to the forefront of the fashion industry through this regional designer search. We are very proud to announce that we have expanded the AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search to all ten Asean countries, and we can't wait to see what this year's competition will bring."

Andrew Tan, Founder of Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week Ready To Wearsaid, "We are delighted to once again partner with AirAsia for AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2017. The energy and creations witnessed last year was fantastic which is why we are even more eager to see what is in store for this year with the expansion of five additional countries in Asean. AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search is without a doubt one of the most prestigious designer search event in the Asean region. With enormous media and industry exposure provided to all the finalists, it has shortened the gap between dreams and reality for those who aim to have their own brand one day. We can't wait to see all the finalists feature their collections down the runway this August at the KLFW RTW 2017."

Vivy Yusof, Co-Founder of FashionValetsaid, "I'm very excited to be a part of the third season of AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search - the biggest season yet! Last year was truly an amazing experience, but I know this year will be even greater. There is no other opportunity like this for designers in Asean so we are expecting to see a wide variety of styles and creativity."

This designer search is open to any individual of any nationality, 30 years of age or below and residing in any of the ten Asean countries. Three (3) women's ready-to-wear sketches inspired by Asean destinations are to be submitted with the complete registration form available at klfashionweek.com. Participants can also get more information by emailing aarrds2017@klfashionweek.com.

AirAsia is also KL Fashion Week Ready To Wear 2017's Preferred Travel Partner and will be flying in fashion designers throughout the AirAsia Group's extensive route network including from India, China, Australia, Japan and South Korea to be featured on the KL Fashion Week Ready To Wear runway from 16 - 20 August 2017.

Follow AirAsia's YouTube Channel (youtube.com/user/AirAsia) for webisodes featuring the journey of all participants or follow the hashtag #AirAsiaRunway on other social media channels such as Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia) and Twitter (twitter.com/AirAsia).

AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2017 Audition Schedule